STYLE
Wine Producer’s Roots
from Nový Šaldorf near Znojmo
Reach Wallachia
The Špalek family winery is not the only wine producer whose family roots can be traced back to
Wallachia. This special will focus on these traditional family wineries and wine cellars in the Blue
Cellar District of Nový Šaldorf.
Mr František Špalek has been the manager of Winery
Špalek since 1970. His father, Josef Špalek, who was
a gardener, came to Šaldorf in 1945 with five children,
hoping for a warmer climate and fertile land from
Wallachia. They had another two children in Šaldorf;
the youngest, František, was born in 1949. His winery
is also represented by his wife Marta and their sons
Petr Ilgner and Marek Špalek. They both studied winemaking and have extensive international experience.
Winery Špalek has gone through a true, great
development since the revolution, and ranks among
quality constants of the national wine market. They
operate in BIO mode with 12ha of vineyards in the
outstanding vineyard estate Kraví hora near Znojmo.
Let us introduce wines typical for this area: Sauvignon,
Riesling (Ryzlink rýnský), and Gruner Veltliner
(Veltlínské zelené). Winery Špalek has also earned
a great reputation for its cuvée, with a registered
family mark Gryllus, in red, pink and white varieties. In
1995 they introduced a fortified wine, Šaler (liqueur
wine), a very unusual product in our country. Their
latest novelty is of the der Ilgner brand, an Austrian
of South Moravia. This product range consists of nonwinery products often inspired by Austrian traditions.
The current hottest hits include an apricot nectar--a
thick, sweet non-alcoholic drink intensely orange in
colour with a compelling apricot smell. The nectar
made from apricots grown in Špalek family orchards
contains a minimum of 45% apricots, no artificial
colors, preservatives or stabilizers.
All products by Family Winery Špalek are sold in the
shop VIIINO in Ostrava.
POSITIV 2/2019 ǀ 109